This invention relates to a fluorescent tube driver and a fluorescent lighting system including such a driver.
Conventionally, fluorescent tubes are powered from an alternating mains supply at a relatively high voltage (240 volts nominal in the U.K.) and at a mains frequency which is relatively low (50 hertz in U.K). A conventional fluorescent lighting tube powered from the mains will consume a not insignificant amount of energy and will generate considerable heat; up to 40% of the energy being wasted due to the requirement of the ballast unit to provide a stable supply to the lamp and this energy being dissipated as heat. Because the ballast unit absorbs energy, the energy drawn from the supply is greater than the rated energy of the tube. There are many situations where this heat generation is unacceptable, for example for lighting the shelves of a retail outlet where the goods displayed will react adversely to heat.